The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for utilizing the heat of the combustion gases produced by operation of a fuel-combusting device to crack methanol into its constituent parts, namely, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide gas are thereupon employed to serve as the fuel to power the fuel-combusting device and to create a reduction atmosphere to render the heated combustion gases inert and pollution-free prior to discharge into the atmosphere.
The present invention relates more particularly to fuel combusting devices such as vehicle combustion engines, power stations, burners and boilers which require efficient fuel consumption and pollution-free exhaust gases.
In the prior art, methanol operation for combustion engines is well known. However, direct methanol operation is not yet a reasonable substitute as compared with the operation by oil-based fuels, since methanol is not available today in sufficient quantity. Upon combustion, methanol alone is inefficient because of its low thermal capacity, so that without further improvements it cannot be used to power modern high-compression engines. Accordingly, resort is had to the higher thermal energy oil-based fuels, such as gasoline, with the resulting disadvantage of discharging pollutants in the exhaust gases to the outside atmosphere.
The search for additional sources of energy will be aided by the present invention. Since methanol can be produced by, for instance, th destructive distillation of wood or the synthesis of coal gas, it serves as a convenient alternative to oil-based fuels. However, as yet the prior art does not employ methanol as a source of energy because of its inherent low calorie power potential.